EBRD finances water infrastructure in Ganja, Azerbaijan

• EBRD to invest €35 million in upgrading Ganja's water management systems
• Sovereign loan to be combined with a grant of up to €5 million from the EU
• Ganja's third project within the EBRD Green Cities programme

More than 300,000 people living in Azerbaijan 's second-largest city stand to benefit from further improvements to their urban environment thanks to a third Green Cities project agreed by the delegations of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Azerbaijan at the 2025 World Economic Forum.

In a loan agreement signed today in Davos by EBRD Vice President Jürgen Rigterink and Azerbaijan's Minister of the Economy, Mikayil Jabbarov, the Bank committed €35 million to finance the upgrading of Ganja's water management systems. The agreement was signed during the meeting between the EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso and the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev.

The project will be co-financed by a grant of up to €5 million from the European Union (EU).

In addition to the loan agreement, Ekaterina Miroshnik, the EBRD Head of Infrastructure Eurasia (Sustainable Infrastructure Group) and Zaur Mikayilov, the Chairman of Azerbaijan State Water Resources Agency, signed a project agreement paving the way to the project implementation.

This loan is a follow-up to the memorandum of understanding that the parties signed at the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Baku (COP29) and the start of a comprehensive programme which aims to ensure that all of Ganja is covered by efficient and sustainable water and wastewater services.

The proceeds will finance the construction of a water supply pipeline, wastewater collection pipes and water reservoirs, as well as stormwater management systems and other supporting infrastructure. Upgrades to Ganja's water infrastructure will help to improve its residents' living standards by ensuring better access to clean water while building resilience towards the impact of climate change.

Ganja joined the EBRD's flagship Green Cities programme in 2020, and this is now the EBRD's third investment project there. The EBRD's first investment in Ganja was in 2022, when the Bank committed to financing upgrades to the city's waste management, and that was then followed by the financing of improvements to the city's street-lighting infrastructure.

The EBRD's €7 billion Green Cities programme helps cities to identify, prioritise and tackle their most pressing environmental challenges by developing tailor-made Green City Action Plans (GCAPs) and making targeted investments to address each city's urban challenges. The GCAP for Ganja was adopted in April 2024. There are currently more than 50 cities in the Green Cities network.

The EBRD is the largest institutional investor in Azerbaijan. To date, the Bank has invested over €4 billion in the country through 195 projects. The Bank's strategy in Azerbaijan focuses on helping the country to diversify its economy and develop the private sector in industries other than oil.